Designed by California-based practice EHDD, the Ocean Science Education Building on the east side of the UCSB campus, will be built to the Gold Certification standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and meets precise requirements of sustainable design elements and practices.
The project will bring together the university’s Marine Science Institute and NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The Ocean Science Education Building will consist of new Channel Islands sanctuary headquarter offices and the Outreach Center for Teaching Ocean Science (OCTOS), a state-of-the-art educational facility.
OCTOS will feature state-of-the-art interactive exhibits to help connect students, educators, community groups, and the public with innovative educational programs based on frontier research in ocean science.
In the first phase of the project, construction of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Offices will provide 7,500 square feet of administrative office and meeting space to house 24 NOAA staff members who currently work at Santa Barbara Harbor. Construction, which is underway, is expected to be completed in 2011.
Construction of the project’s second phase, the 7,500 square feet ocean outreach center, will be made possible with private funds being raised by the university and/or sponsorships. The center will be an education facility supported by the sanctuary and UC Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute, engaging users in compelling, hands-on, standards-based programming on ocean science topics. It will provide interactive educational activities including live aquaria, wet lab, and immersive theater.
The NOAA is a federal agency focused on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.
